RCB remained in the top-2 for a long time this season, but the defeat against Lucknow Super Giants has made their position a bit difficult. The team’s fast bowler Josh Hazlewood has proved to be very expensive in the last two matches. The batsmen of Gujarat Titans and Lucknow scored runs freely on his bowling. Opener Jacob Bethel also could not perform as expected in the absence of Phil Salt. He has scored only 43 runs in four innings.
RCB has hopes from Virat and Rajat
However, it is a matter of relief for RCB that the team’s experienced batsman Virat Kohli is in good form. The team will also have big expectations from captain Rajat Patidar and wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma. In bowling, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has performed brilliantly in the powerplay. This season, he has taken 9 wickets in the powerplay and has played a big role in the success of RCB.
If Mumbai loses, playoff hopes will end.
On the other hand, the condition of Mumbai Indians is worse. It’s fight or die for the team. If Mumbai loses this match, its playoff hopes will almost end. However, the team had registered a spectacular victory in the last match, which has increased the confidence of the players.
Surya will return
Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton returning to form is good news for Mumbai. Rickelton had scored unbeaten 83 runs in the last match, whereas before that he had played a explosive inning of 123 runs. Suryakumar Yadav is about to join the team while there is still suspense over the fitness of captain Hardik Pandya.
Mumbai’s biggest concern is bowling. Jasprit Bumrah has not been in his element this season. The team’s powerplay economy rate is 11.61, which is the worst this season.
What will be the nature of the pitch?
The pitch of Raipur is considered helpful for the batsmen. However, after the rain on Saturday, the conditions may change slightly. The weather is going to be hot and the match may see a high scoring contest.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (Probable-12): 1 Virat Kohli, 2 Jacob Bethel, 3 Devdutt Padikkal, 4 Rajat Patidar (captain), 5 Jitesh Sharma (wicket-keeper), 6 Tim David, 7 Romario Shepherd, 8 Krunal Pandya, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Suyyash Sharma, 12 Rasikh Salaam.
Mumbai Indians (Probable-12): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Ryan Rickleton (wk), 3 Naman Dheer, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Tilak Verma, 6 Hardik Pandya (captain)/Corbin Bosch, 7 Robin Minz/Raj Bawa, 8 Deepak Chahar, 9 Trent Boult, 10 AM Ghazanfar, 11 Jasprit Bumrah, 12 Raghu Sharma.
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